


Fade from Black

by gingayellow



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen, Hurt/No Comfort, M/M, Season 4 Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-15
Updated: 2017-10-15
Packaged: 2019-01-17 23:51:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12376710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gingayellow/pseuds/gingayellow
Summary: Shiro nearly loses Keith. Then he really loses him. [Shiro/Keith, spoilers for all of season 4]





	Fade from Black

Title: Fade from Black  
Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender  
Characters/Pairing: Shiro/Keith  
Rating: G  
Disclaimer: Not mine, anything mentioned here by name isn't mine  
Warnings: None  
Notes: Spoilers for Season 4’s finale.

In the aftermath of a battled that liberated a good part of the planets under Galra rule, and ended with Prince Lotor surrendering/defecting ‘in the hopes of a true, lasting peace,’ it was only too easy for one Blade to slip away. Luckily for Shiro, Captain Olia had picked Keith up—and Olia insisted that he stay for a routine checkup (physical and on his ship) before she released him to Kolivan. And her first officer, Matt Holt, was willing to bend the rules enough to tell Shiro where Keith was.

_You need to come now, if you want to see him. As soon as Slippy finished repairs on his ship, Keith’s gone._

So Shiro didn’t even return to the Castle—he left for Olia’s small cruiser in the Black Lion. He was exhausted, but that was nothing to the scenario that kept running through his mind. 

Keith was willing to sacrifice himself.

Keith had come this close to sacrificing himself. It was only because of Lotor (of all people) that he hadn’t.

And he was trying to disappear again before Shiro could see with his own eyes that yes, Keith was alive.

… He never should have let him go. Yes, Keith was a grown man. Yes, someone needed to investigate what Lotor was up to, but blast it, Shiro **knew**. The Blades rejected the individual’s worth just as much as the Galra Empire—but they had tolerated the Blades because they needed allies. Shiro had ignored that they’d hurt Keith, they’d ripped him open psychologically, and now had him convinced that his life meant nothing, all because Shiro was too busy with blasted **parades** and **theatrics** and—

He’d punched the wall with his metal hand, not enough to break anything, but there was a dent. Oops. 

“Slippy’s not going to be happy.” He’d been so lost in his own anger, Shiro never noticed Keith slip up next to him. So much for surprising him. 

Not that he ever could. It was the other way around, really—Keith had Shiro spellbound for as long as he could remember.

“I’ll pay for repairs,” Shiro assured him. “Um. Somehow.”

“Maybe from the GACs from your acting/ice skating career?”

Shiro sighed heavily. “You saw all of that, didn’t you.”

“Slippy showed me the highlights on his vid,” Keith said with a faint grin. “See, Shiro, this is why I had to leave. I was raised in the desert; I can’t skate to save my life.”

Speaking of Keith leaving, and his life… “Keith.” Shiro placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “We need to talk.”

Any hint of warmth was gone from Keith’s face as he pulled away from Shiro’s touch. “No. We don’t.”

… What was he talking about. “Keith, you nearly—”

“Yes. I did.” The dark hood hiding most of his face gave Keith a ghostly appearance. “This is a war. The mission comes first.” His tone was so flat, so—so dead that Shiro felt a chill creep through his body.

“W-we would’ve found a way,” Shiro managed. “We’re a team.”

“We’re not. Not anymore,” Keith reminded him, standing straight and upright, not unlike Kolivan. “And sometimes the way to victory is… unkind.” He wasn’t looking at Shiro anymore, but his ship off in the distance. “Slippy’s done. I’m going.”

He was going. Shiro only had a few ticks until Keith was out of his life again.

Shiro reached out, grabbing Keith’s hand. He was going to pull him into a good-bye hug, like he had countless times, because that was what they did, Keith was never good with words but he showed Shiro how much he cared through touch—

Keith squeezed Shiro’s hand, then sidestepped to avoid Shiro’s embrace. “Good-bye.”

Keith was gone a dobosh later, but Shiro was beginning to understand that he’d lost him long before that. 

\--

Final Notes: I’ve done pretty much everything Keith did this season, so S4/the fic was cathartic for good and bad reasons. lol. (Also, obvi Starfox reference is obvi)


End file.
